Family Promise of Colorado Springs is ensuring the most vulnerable children and families in their community receive help.
The Affiliate recently opened Colorado Springs’ first stand-alone, family-dedicated shelter. It is also Colorado’s first low-barrier family shelter.
“We’re able to accept families in whatever place they’re at,” Family Promise of Colorado Springs Executive Director Kat Lilley told reporters. “If a family with children need shelter, it’s available.”
The shelter’s “low-barrier” status means there is a higher tolerance for families who might be rejected from other shelters. This ensures that families are not separated based on gender, age, or other factors.
“It’s not about sobriety; it’s not about employment; it’s about children knowing they can be safe in our community and they have a place to sleep at night,” Lilley explained.
Formerly a motel, the shelter was refurbished using grants and donations from businesses and faith groups, while volunteers helped renovate rooms. The structure was re-named the New Promise Family Shelter before last week’s ribbon-cutting.
The New Promise Family Shelter boasts 17 rooms of varying sizes. Its existence has doubled the shelter-bed capacity for families with children in Colorado Springs, according to Mayor John Suthers. Each room features basic amenities and furniture donated by a local retailer.
For families experiencing homelessness, stability is fleeting. The New Promise Family Shelter ensures families with children have a place to rest their head and a space to build a stable future for themselves.
Lilley put it best: “This is a place of hope, this is a place of courage, this is a place of dignity.”
